Get up close and personal with Thomas Jefferson’s “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth,” a remarkable document from the early 19th century. Cutting excerpts from four translations—English, French, Latin and Greek—of the Four Gospels, Jefferson sought to tell a chronological and distilled version of Jesus’ life and moral teachings. This website features high-resolutions scans of every page of the book as well as photos illustrating the museum’s meticulous conservation of the volume. A version of the website was available in the exhibition (now closed) through a touchscreen kiosk. The artifact provides an insight to the religious and moral beliefs of the writer of the Declaration of Independence as well as his position as an important thinker in the Age of Enlightenment.
Organization: Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History
Audience: History enthusiasts, museum visitors
Role: Project lead, content developer